The best project management software with real GitHub integration
Most "GitHub integrations" attach a PR link to a card and call it a day. That is not an integration — it is a bookmark. We only cared about one thing here: does an issue actually move when a branch opens and a PR merges, with no human babysitting it. Six tools, ranked on how deep the wiring really goes.
We pushed integration depth to the front because a shallow connector defeats the entire reason a dev team buys a PM tool. A board that does not update itself from Git is just another place to fall out of date. See the full rubric →
GitHub integration depth35%
Developer workflow fit20%
Speed & performance15%
Value for money15%
Room to scale15%
01
RANK
★ Editor’s Choice
Linear
Best two-way GitHub sync
Linear is the one tool here where the integration is the product. Reference an issue ID in a branch or commit and the issue moves itself; merge the PR and it closes. No Zapier, no manual status drag. It is built for engineers and it shows — the trade-off is that non-technical teammates find it spare.
Auto status from branch + PR
Closes issues on merge
Fast, keyboard-first
Full Linear review coming soonFree · from $8/user/mo
93
OUT OF 100
02
RANK
Jira
Best for scrum + GitHub
With the official GitHub for Jira app, smart commits move issues and PRs show on the board. It is deeper and more configurable than anything else here, which is also the catch: you will spend real time wiring it up, and the machinery is heavy for a small team.
ClickUp's native GitHub integration shows commits, branches and PR status on a task and can trigger automations. It works, but the sync is one-directional in practice more often than Linear's, and you are buying a whole all-in-one suite to get it.
If your team never leaves GitHub, Projects is free, native and already there — issues and PRs are first-class, no integration to break. It falls down the moment design, marketing or ops need to see the same plan; they should not need a GitHub seat to read a roadmap.
Full GitHub Projects review coming soonIncluded with GitHub · free
84
OUT OF 100
05
RANK
Asana
Cross-functional, shallow sync
Asana is excellent for cross-functional work, but its GitHub link is a connector that surfaces PR status, not a workflow engine. Good if engineering is one team among many; weak if you want the board to be the source of truth for shipping.
The Trello GitHub Power-Up attaches branches, commits and PRs to a card as references. That is it. Nothing moves when a PR merges. It is the cleanest example of the trap this page exists to call out: it looks integrated and does none of the work.
Only as references. Trello's GitHub Power-Up attaches branches, commits and PRs to a card, but nothing happens to the card when a PR merges. If you want issues to close themselves on merge, you need Linear, Jira or GitHub Projects — not Trello or a monday power-up.
Is GitHub Projects enough on its own?
For an engineering-only team that lives in GitHub, yes — it is free, native and unbreakable because there is no integration to break. It stops being enough the moment non-engineers need visibility, because they would each need a GitHub seat to see the plan.
Linear or Jira for a GitHub team?
Linear if speed and a clean automatic two-way sync matter most and your team is engineering-led. Jira if you need deep scrum reporting, many projects, granular permissions and the wider Atlassian ecosystem, and you can absorb the heavier setup.
Which one survives at scale?
Jira and Linear. Jira because it was built for large, multi-team engineering orgs; Linear because its sync stays clean as issue volume grows. The all-in-one tools get slower and noisier as the workspace fills up.